Proposition 30 victory avoids drastic cuts to education

Proposition 30 was up 54 percent to 46 percent with about 94.8 percent of the statewide vote tallied as of 5:25 a.m.

Brown told reporters he was confident of victory earlier Tuesday night as returns began to swing his way.

"We had to overcome a lot of obstacles....We overcame them," he said.

Proposition 30 was one of three tax hikes before voters, including a competing measure to raise money for schools and another to close a tax loophole that favors out-of-state corporations.

Proposition 30 over came an early deficit in the election night tally, as well as recent polls showing the measure falling below 50 percent.

Proposition 30 raises the state sales tax by a quarter cent on the dollar for four years and increase the income tax for those earning $250,000 or more per year for seven years. The $6 billion in new annual revenues would go to schools and to help local governments pay for new public safety obligations thrust on them by the state.

Passage of the measure means Brown and lawmakers can avoid enacting a previously authorized a $5.4 billion automatic cut in spending on K-12 schools and community colleges. Another $500 million combined would be erased from the budgets of the California State University and University of California systems.

Many school districts across the state, including San Diego Unified and others in the county, have laid out contingency plans to shorten the school year to cover the lost revenues. San Diego Unified earlier this year reached a deal with teachers to take up to 14 days off the calendar depending on the size of the final cuts.

UC Regents and CSU Trustees have already made plans to impose tuition hikes under a worst-case scenario. CSU trustees in September approved a contingency plan to hike fees by 5 percent, to $6,270 annually for full-time students. UC Regents have previously warned of tuition hikes of as much as 20 percent.

Brown had barnstormed across the state the past few weeks urging support. Among his many stops were college campuses where he urged students to vote for Proposition 30 or face the consequences of higher costs.

Brown also unleashed his dog, Sutter, on the campaign trail to draw media attention.

Proposition 38, pushed by wealthy attorney Molly Munger, proposed to increase income taxes on most Californians to raise about $10 million for schools, debt relief and early childhood programs.

Another tax measure that was approved, Proposition 39, closes a $1 billion tax loophole for out-of-state corporations. Of the $1 billion about half would go to education under current law and the rest would be used for energy efficiency programs.

Proposition 39 was passing 60.2 percent to 39.8 percent.

Tom Steyer, the wealthy leader of the campaign and former hedge fund manager, released the following statement:

“This victory at the polls signifies an enormous win for California, a win for our economy, and a win for direct democracy. Voters recognized that closing this enormous tax loophole for out-of-state corporations will create tens of thousands of jobs at a time when we so badly need them. ... And they have allowed us to level the playing field for our home-grown businesses and invest in job-creating energy efficiency projects that will help reduce energy bills.”